Apparatus for folding and winding strip material



1949. W. MITCHELL, JYR 2,480,591

APPARATUS FOR FOLDING AND WINDING STRIP MATERIAL Filed July 10, 1945 2 Shets-$heet 1 awe/M30 0 Aug. 30, 1949. w. MITCHELL, JR 5 APPARATUS FOR FOLDING AND WINDING STRIP MATERIAL Filed July 10, 1945 z-srieets-sneet 2 Hull .38 45 47 28 Ila/Jar Mickeli, fi:

Patented Aug. 30, 1949 APPARATUS FOR FOLDING AND WINDING STRIP MATERIAL walter Mit'chell, J12, Scafsd'alefNfY.

iapplication zluly -10, 1945, S8l1ial ND. $045272 3 Claims.

l he :present invention relates to an apparatus fcir folding and winding strip :material.

More particularly, .the invention :relates to a novel zapparatus for producing rolled :paper tis- Sue.

fl he'qarincipal objeetef the invention is to sprovid'e apparatus for producing '-ti'ssue, sueh as :soft facial tissue, in a form convenient for packaging in 7a :sma'il wrapper or sm'all carton that can "be conveniently carried :in a womans :purse :or a man s poket. 'The tissue products :heretofore commercially available have been packaged :in cartons of such size as to preclude their being conveniently earried in eithewazpurse 'or a pook'et. Consequently, .persons have heen idrcedtoresort to theipraetice of earryin'g a number-of "such tis sues i'n l'oose iform, but this is unsanitary because of the Contact of the =tiss'ues"\with the linirig and/or other articles in a ?purse or ipbck't, and is also unsatisfaietory because of *the diffidulty of separating a single tissue- 1 mm argroup that has b'een fdlde'd "or rum led.

The present invention "eliminates the foregoing obietions to presently available commercial tissues by roviding means whereby indiviuual evetl adtable tissues can be conveniently wrapped or pakaeed in a container, and in any number desired, the package "or container being small eheughin event'to 'beeonvenien tly earriediin either a puise bripockt. The tissues-"are prefer ably individual 1y $61166, a'nii henee are indivifllia'l ly extractable from the Wrapper 'or ho'n'tain'er for usefas desired. :A'eonveh'ient form "(ifipbhket 'sizle cdtitsliiir fiir th'e rolled tissues is disclosed an my cap'enum-g application, Serial No. f(f5;853, filed fiugustv, I94'1,'ndwPaterftNo. 253821368 'o'f u's't 14, 1945.

iiifibtlier dbject 0)? the -mve'rrtion is to provide a relativelg sirrr'pl'e apparatus for making fdlded and rolled tissues of-the Character aforedeseribed.

==A still further'obieet dfthednvention is "to provide means :for Winding a 'strip 'of tissue material into a compact roll.

Wimirespeeifie objedt cif the invhtien is to prbvide means for stripping individually rolled tissues frorn the winding apparatus and for retaining "a multiplicity of the mulled together as a-groiipztorwrapping in celldpharre or'other materm, or for use in ihseftin'g' the rdlled tissu'es into a'rlsitoh as a .gfup.

Other bti ebts and advantages "0? the invention will be -=apparent frem the follciwiiig description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

mg. is asGmeWhat diagrammatic firmt eleval2 tional viewmf apparatus-embodying the principles 0f thei'present invention; v g

2 :is an 'enlargedseetional View through a folded strip of tissue material taken on theline Fig. 3 is a greatly enlarged diagrammatic end viewof a woundaOll of tissueprior to its removal from the fingers of -thewinding apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a mlan view =of the apparatus shown ln Fig. :1;

:Fig. 5 is :a view of -a springelip that may be employed to strip themolled tissue from the winding fingers 'shown in Eig.-3 and which may be employed to retain :a multiplicity of the rolled tissues in cenve'nient fonm iior packaging; and

Fig. *6-is faaperspeetive View of -a rolled tissue il lustrating the manner which one of the cor ner's' at the end-of the rolled tissue is available :for grasping by the lingers -of the user to effect instaritaneous unfu'rling and'uniolding-of the tissue for immediate use.

fiefei i inginbw to 'the d-rawings, the numeral I generally indicates a maehin-e frame including 'a base '2 :and supponting legs '3. :A pair'o'f brackets 4 :is inouiited upon the base 2 adjaeent one end thereof ifor supporting a roll of conventional --or suitable tissue paper 5. Ih'e :roll of tissue '5 normally consists of two layers end :is about 10" :in width. H0wever,the'tissue nee'drnot be laminated and a single 13 of -st1itable weight material is equally useful inipr acticingthe invention. Likewise, the width 0f =the roll :5 is not critical and :be vaT-ied as desired.

El-he web d'r =stf=ip 0f *tissue provided by the roll 5 is monveniently identified by the numeral =6. The free *end 'of=thestrip Bis introduced into one ehd 1 (if a suitable folding'device :8 by a leader strip (-not shown). In order to :facilitate the threadihg of 'thestripe 'thro'u'gh th'e folding dev iee 8, the end =1 thereof is :prefe'rably hingedly supported upon a :rod 9 supported in brackets 4:0 mounted-onthe base 2. The=diseharge end l l -of the :xi'olding :device 8 is =detaeha1oly secured to the upper enddf a U shaped bracket -llby aba'r l3 hinged at 1'3 tandyvhose zfree :end is fasterred to said bracket' by a wing=bolt M, the bracket l b-bein'g :mounted upon the base 2. The "folding de- Vice '8 is preferably of such character that the strip -6 :is altered during =its massage therethrough fiiom a Wide .flat trarisverseeross-seetion into a strip whiehdsfbldeddn -aocordian fashion so=that it isrelativeIynarrow and generally Z-shaped in transverse cross 'seetidn.

The strip :6 is -drawn through the ffolding device :8 by a Lpair hf "conventional feed rolls carried by brackets l6, which are also mounted upon the base 2. The feed rolls may be either mechanically or manually driven, but for convenience in illustration, a manually operable crank i? has been shown connected with one end of a shaft l8 associated with the upper feed roll. The feed rolls 15 are interconnected in driving relation by gears 19, in a manner well understood.

The cross-sectional shape of the strip 6 after it has been folded is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2, and it will be noted therefrom that said strip comprises an upper web or layer 20, an intermediate web or layer 2i and a lower web or layer 22. The upper layer 28 terminates in a longitudinal edge 23 which is disposed in substantially the same vertical plane as the longitudinally extending fold 24 disposed between the intermediate web 2| and the lower web 22. It will also be noted that the lower web 22 has an outer edge 25 which terminates in substantially the same vertical plane as the longitudinally extending fold 26 disposed between the upper web 29 and the intermediate web 2|.

The folded strip 6 is received by and moves downwardly upon a platform 21 which is preferably inclined toward a combined support and stop 28 mounted upon the base 2 at the lower end of said platform. The upper end of the platform is supported by a bracket 29 (Fig, 1) mounted upon the base 2. A conventional or suitable cutoif device 38 is mounted upon the inclined platform 21 and includes a blade 3| which is adapted to be either manually or mechanically operated to cut the folded strip into suitable lengths, say of about ten inches, so that each individual tissue in its fully unrolled and unfolded condition consists of a square having ten-inch sides. For convenience in illustration, the blade 3| has been illustrated as manually operable and provided with a handle 32.

The folded and severed strip is identified for convenience by 6, and its length may be determined by the distance that the blade 3| is disposed from the stop 28, in which case the blade 3| can be operated upon engagement of'the end of the strip 6 with said stop to produce strips of the desired length. The strip '6 is adapted to be rolled by a manual or power driven winding device. A power driven winding device is preferred and one such device is generally identified by the numeral 33, and will now be described. The winding device 33 includes a small electric motor 34 having a shaft 35. A conventional or suitable speed control governor 36 (see Fi 4) is secured to one end of the shaft 35, whereby to limit the speed of rotation of the motor 34 to about 120 R. P. M. This speed has been found by experiment to produce highly satisfactory rolling of the tissues. The opposite end of the shaft has a mandrel 3'! secured thereto for rotation therewith. A pair of smooth, round wire fingers 38, about 1 3' inch in diameter and spaced about A; of an inch apart, is mounted in the mandrel 3'1, and these fingers extend transversely of the folded web 6 with one finger on either side of said web. The fingers 38 rotate about an axis which substantially coincides with the plane of the web 6 Furthermore, the fingers 38 are arranged so that upon rotation thereof they will engage the strip 6 at a point between one end of said strip and the mid point of said strip, say in a zone located about A; the length of the strip from the stop 28. Thus, the fingers 38 engage the strip 6 at such point that all side thrust on said fingers is eliminated, thereby making it possible to use fingers which are quite small in diameter and which, therefore, do not appreciably increase the bulk of the rolled tissue.

The motor 34 may be manually or otherwise controlled and for convenience a manually operated switch as has been shown mounted upon the base 2 adjacent said motor. The switch 39 is connected to service leads 4!) and 4| and conductors 42 and 43 connect the switch with the motor 34. It will be understood that the circuit to the motor 34 is open during the feeding of the folded strip 6 toward the stop 28. In order to avoid interference with such feed, a fiat spring 44 is arranged to engage the sides of the fingers 38 causing said fingers to come to rest in a predetermined position with one finger disposed above and the other below the plane of feed of the web 6. The fingers 38 are engaged by the free end of the fiat spring 44 as best illustrated in Fig. 1 and the opposite end of said flat spring is secured to the base 2. Hence, the fingers 38 assume a predetermined position of rest whenever the circuit to the motor 34 is interrupted. The feed rolls l5 flatten the folds 24 and 26 of the strip 6 and press the webs20, 2i and 22 together so that said strip enters the space between the winding fingers 38 without difiiculty.

The fingers 33 extend into a recess 45 formed in the platform 21. The recess 45 is, of course, large enough to accommodate the rolled tissue resulting from the winding of the strip B upon the fingers 38. It is important to subject the strip 6 to tension while it is being wound because it has been found that such tensioning tends to maintain the tissue in a tightly rolled condition after the winding operation has been completed. Accordingly, the web 6 may be tensioned manually by applying pressure thereto with the hand of the operator at points on opposite sides of theaxis of rotation of the fingers 38 during the winding operation. Alternatively. tension may be mechanically applied to the web 6 while it is being wound by any suitable tensioning device such as the bars 46 and 41 which engage the strip 6 and frictionally press the same against the platform 21 on opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the fingers 38. The bar 46 is urged toward the strip 6 by a flat spring 48 and the bar 4'! is similarly urged toward said strip by a flat spring 49. It will be understood that the tensioning bars 46 and 41 are raised either manually or otherwise while the strip 6 is fed down the platform 27 toward the stop 28,

and that said bars are lowered into frictional engagement with said strip prior to the starting of the winding operation. The tensioning bars 46 and 4? not only tension the strip 6, but serve the further purpose of causing the strip '5 todraw the flexible fingers 38 closer together at the start of the winding operation, so that the resulting rolled tissue is compactly wound throughout.

In view of the fact that the winding fingers 38 engage the severed strip 6 at a point about the length of the strip from one end thereof, the end of the rolled tissue will present the appearance diagrammatically illustrated in exaggerated scale in Fig. 3. It will be noted that the effect of starting the rolling of the tissue at a point spaced from one end thereof is the same as if the folded tissue had been overlapped upon itself along a transverse line corresponding to the zone occupied by the fingers, so that the core of the tissue consists of a multiple ply of folded 5". tissue :and its outer peripheryzof a single ptyidf fQlded tissue. The portionli of thesstnip 6 which lies between the stop .28 and the fingers 3.8 has been stippled in Fig. .3 to more iclearly illustrate .the multi ply cone. I

.Afterthe rolline of the'tissue under tensionghas been completed, the circuit to the mdtorqall is opBnedand-the fingers 38' are calllSed to-coine to restin predetermined position by the natspring Ml, as previously pointed out. The c mDLdtely rolled .tissue is identified for convenience b the hetter'llf. 'T-he rolledtissue Tis-stxippedifllflmifille fingers 38 by the'hand of the operator, by sliding the tissue 01f the free ends of the fingers 38. Due to the fact that the tissue has been rolled under tension, it does not tend to unroll when removed by the hand of the operator. However, it is preferable that the tissue remain untouched by the hand of the operator and, hence, mechanical stripping means has been devised for such purpose. Such mechanical stripping means may be in the form of individual spring clips 50 (Fig. 5). The clip 59 consists of a strip of resilient metal bent into a general U-shape to provide legs 5! and 52 which have outwardly turned ends 53 and 54 to better enable the same to be slipped over a rolled tissue while it is still on the Winding fingers 38, as shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 3. In using the clip 50, the same is brought into such position that the lower ends of the legs 5| and 52 pressurally grip the rolled tissue T therebetween, and stripping of said rolled tissue from the fingers 38 is efiected by movin the clip 59 bodily in a direction away from the motor 34. The rolled tissue T is held under sufl'icient pressure by the clip 50 to be retained in place between the legs 51 and 52 after the stripping operation has been completed.

successively rolled tissues T may be removed by repeating the foregoing operation, the previously removed rolled tissue being forced upwardly into the space between the legs 5! and 52, as each newly rolled tissue is removed by the clip 50. Thus, the legs 5| and 52 of the clips 59 may be made of a length sufficient to retain ten or more rolled tissues therebetween. The tissues thus retained by the clips 59 may be subsequently stripped therefrom and inserted into a suitable container or enclosed in a suitable wrapper, the clips 59 then being available for use for successively removing additional rolled tissues from the winding fingers 38.

It will be apparent that packaging of the rolled tissues is greatly facilitated by the use of the clip 59, which can be conveniently inserted into the open end of a carton (not shown) and then withdrawn, the outermost tissue being suitably held in place in the carton while said clip is being withdrawn.

One of the important features and advantages of a tissue rolled in accordance with the present invention resides in the fact that it can be instantly unfurled and unfolded by a simple rapid movement of the hand in the air. Thus, a rolled tissue T upon removal from a carton or other container (not shown) will present the appearance shown in Fig. 6. Due to the manner in which the tissue T has been rolled, the edge 23 of the upper web 2!! can be readily separated from the fold 24 so as to provide a corner 55 which can be readily grasped by the thumb and index and third fingers. The rolled tissue thus held can be quickly unfurled and unfolded by a quick downward movement of the hand, the inertia of the roll causing the same to readily unwind and the air resistanoaefiectirigzunfoldingsofthe tissue. Of course, the user may slowly unfurl and unfold the tissue by using both hands, but a full :and completeopening -of the tissue can be redacted instantly fin t-he-simple manner described.

While apparatus has .been illustrated herein iior effecting folding and-rolling of the tissue material, it w illbe understood that the tissue ine?! be folded, rolled and tensioned Ioy hand, although produtioniby suchmeans wouldibe slow andimere expensive than machine folding, rolling :amditensioning. llf hand rollingis employed, the .longitudinally folded .strip may be overlapped upon itself by folding over the portion 6* along a, line a distance about A; the length of the strip from one end thereof and the rolling of the strip started at the overlapped end. The overlapping of the strip is important from the standpoint that as the tissue is unrolled, the overlapped portion 6* at the core readily unfurls and interference to free unfolding of the tissue which might occur if rolling started at one extremity of the tissue is eliminated.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of the parts of the apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for winding strip material, comprising: a pair of substantially parallel fingers spaced apart a suflicient distance to straddle a strip of material to be wound thereby; and a generally U-shaped spring clasp engageable with the wound strip of material at a point intermediate the edges of said strip for stripping said wound strip of material from said fingers.

2. Means for winding strip material, comprising: a pair of substantially parallel fingers spaced apart a sufiicient distance to straddle a strip of material to be wound thereby; means for rotating said fingers about an axis substantially coinciding with the space between said fingers; and yieldable means disposed to one side of the axis of rotation of said fingers, said yieldable means being engageable with. both of said fingers to ihiring said fingers to rest in a predetermined posi- 3. Means for winding strip material, comprising: a pair of substantially parallel fingers spaced apart a suflicient distance to straddle a strip of material to be wound thereby; means for rotating said fingers about an axis substantially coinciding with the space between said fingers; and a spring strip extending transversely of and to one side of the axis of rotation of said fingers, said spring strip being engageable with the sides of said fingers to bring said fingers to rest in a predetermined position.

WALTER MITCHELL, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 409,447 Block Aug. 20, 1889 478,345 Linthicum July 5, 1892 745,240 Rolland Nov. 24, 1903 781,927 Adams Feb. 7, 1905 797,483 Wilkins Aug. 15, 1905 848,400 Sandell Mar. 26, 1907 (Other references on following page) Number Number 8 Name Date Willard Apr. 8, 1930 Cooper June 10, 1930 Marcalus Oct. 25, 1932 Gluck et a1. Jan. 30, 1934 Coons May 22, 1934 Blosser et a1 Feb. 26, 1935 Scott May 31, 1938 Judelshon Nov. 8, 1938 Merrill, Jr., et a1 June 16, 1942 Johnson Apr. 11, 1944 Duckofi May 29, 1945 

